Notes on Capture and Roost Characteristics of Three Female Evening Bats (Nycticeius humeralis) in Southern Wisconsin: An Expanding Species?

Abstract

Abstract The evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis) is considered a common species in southeastern United States, with historically few records in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. However, recent work in Michigan and Minnesota has shown that evening bats are becoming increasingly common in the region. After capture of a juvenile male evening bat in late summer 2015 in southern Rock County, Wisconsin, we radio-tracked three adult female evening bats in summer 2016 at the same Rock County location. These three bats were tracked to three roost trees with counts during evening emergence ranging from 20 to 103 bats. This work represents the first confirmed capture and roost site investigation for evening bats in Wisconsin and supports the idea this species is expanding its range.